Current commercial method of selling carbonated beverages include cans and bottles. Beer is sold in re-usable metal kegs which require carbon dioxide cartridges to maintain carbonation. These kegs are heavy and require special refrigerated dispenser units or are cooled by ice. A product known as the "Party Ball" has recently been developed; and this involves a five-gallon plastic ball with a re-usable dispenser spigot at the top of the ball. This "party ball" is pressurized by a hand pump which must be activated after two or three 8-oz. glasses are dispensed. Since only air is supplied to the compartment, the beer must be consumed within about 24 to 48 hours before it loses carbonation and becomes flat. These methods of beer dispensing in large quantities are cumbersome, expensive, and impractical for many purposes.
Soft drink carbonated beverages are not available in large size units, because once they are opened, they rapidly lose carbonation pressure.
Non-carbonated beverages have been made available in flexible bags, equipped with a dispensing spout, and A. M. Pike, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 3,435,990 shows a cooling apparatus in which three of such flexible beverage containing bags are used. However, the Pike system is not applicable to potable beverages requiring pressurization, such as beer or carbonated soft drinks, for specific examples.
Accordingly, a principal object of the present invention is to provide a system for economically dispensing large quantities of beer or other carbonated beverages without the disadvantages outlined hereinabove.